Lilac

Also known as Lilac this early Anatole Litvakdirected talkie was based on a play by Tristan Bernard and Charles Henry Hirsch The story bears traces of the Bertold BrechtWeill piece The Threepenny Opera with heroine Lilac Marcelle Romeo consorting with the criminal scum of Paris Lilac falls in love with a handsome detective Andre Luguet but he doesnt let his emotions stand in the way of his duty and in the end he reluctantly turns her over to the authorities At 120000 Coeur de Lilas was one of the most expensive movies to come out of France in 1931 but it more than made back its cost at the boxoffice